Team size: 28

Key team members: Bernadine Seet, Sarah Zhang, Heidi Sandwell, Mansha Shukla, Eugene Lee, Yuichiro Watanabe

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

The specific tasks our team handles can vary greatly each day, and we find our day-to-day filled with the most novel legal questions and finding solutions in these fast-developing areas of the law. The law in relation to digital platforms has been fast evolving with the passing of many new platform regulations, consumer protection laws, privacy and cybersecurity frameworks, and policy developments, and the Airbnb APAC Legal Team finds itself in the intersection of various areas.

Recent significant projects include: supporting our twice-yearly global product launches; the introduction of ‘Aircover for Guests and Hosts’; working closely with our policy colleagues on the implementation of new short term rental laws and supporting governments on the development of digital nomad programs; tackling the wave of platform, e-commerce, consumer and privacy regulation being introduced across Asia Pacific.

Can you sum up the team culture or ethos?

The culture of Airbnb APAC Legal Team reflects the company’s broader ethos of community, diversity, and global understanding. Team members are adaptable, collaborative, and deeply committed to the core values that have guided Airbnb since its inception. These include a number of key pillars.

Being a host: demonstrating care for others and making them feel like they belong; encouraging others to participate to their fullest; and actively listening, communicating openly and setting clear expectations;

Championing the mission: prioritising work that advances the mission and positively impacts the community; building with the long-term in mind; and actively participating in the community and culture.

Embrace the adventure: being curious, asking for help and demonstrating the ability to grow; owning and learning from mistakes; and bringing joy and optimism to work.

Being a serial entrepreneur: being bold and applying original thinking; imaging the ideal outcome; and being resourceful and making the outcome a reality.

Does your team make use of interesting technology solutions to streamline its workload?

Airbnb drives innovation in its products and processes. We have developed a suite of tools to assist us in our work, and the regional Asia Pacific team has been driving the implementation of technology and tools. These include the use of an end-to-end contract lifecycle management tool, and new AI features that we are implementing in our contract management tool to enhance the efficiency, speed and quality of the work delivered by the team.